East High Street Elementary Takes a Stand Against Bullying

October 28, 2013- On Friday, Oct. 25, East High Street Elementary School students, faculty, and staff joined schools all across the nation in the Million Misfit Sock March. As the culminating activity to anti-bullying month, the initiative took a stand against bullying by promoting a positive school environment where differences are celebrated.

The program was inspired by the classic children’s storybook The Misfit Sock, which teaches that differences are magical and to be appreciated. In the spirit of community building, the students and staff took a stance by wearing socks of all colors, designs, sizes, and shapes to embrace differences, individual creativity, and the power of positive behavior and encouragement.

To better understand the meaning of the celebration, in the days leading up to the March the students read books and talked about what made each one of them unique during their Children Understanding and Building Skills instruction (C.U.B.S). C.U.B.S. is one of the special area classes that students in grades K-3 have each week. To illustrate how they were different, the students created their own paper socks. First grade socks had a self-portrait, second grade socks had words to describe themselves, and third grade sock had how they are misfits and how they can stand up to bullying.

The Million Misfit Sock program complemented the school’s use of the internationally-recognized Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP). OBPP is not a curriculum, but a program that deals with bullying at the school-wide, classroom, individual, and community levels. OBPP has proven effective at reducing bullying and making schools a safer, more positive place for students to learn.

Photo caption: East High Street Elementary students took a stand against bullying by showing their differences with an assortment of misfit socks.